The Medical (Therapy, Education and Research) Act 1972 (MTERA) is an opt-in scheme enacted in 1972 by the

Government of Singapore The government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of Singapore, Constitution of the Republic of Singapore to consist of the President of Singapore, President and the Executive. Executive authority of Singapore is vested in the Presi ...

. It is designed to empower Singaporeans to donate their organs as well as any body parts upon their demise.

Uses

Traditionally in Singapore,

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

believe body desecration in life or death to be forbidden, and thus many reject organ transplant. However most Muslim authorities nowadays accept the practice if another life will be saved. In countries such as Singapore with a cosmopolitan populace that includes Muslims, the special

Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura The Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS), also known as the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (IRCS), is a Statutory boards of the Singapore Government, statutory board of the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth of the Government of Si ...

governing body is formed to look after the interests of Singapore's Muslim community over issues that includes their burial arrangements. Organ harvesting and transplantation in Singapore being thus optional for Muslims, is generally overseen by the

National Organ Transplant Unit National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

of the

Ministry of Health (Singapore) The Ministry of Health (MOH; ; zh, 卫生部; ) is a ministry of the Government of Singapore responsible for managing the public healthcare system in Singapore. Statutory boards * Health Promotion Board * Health Sciences Authority * Singap ...

. The implementations of organ harvesting and organ transplant may vary from each approved institution. As an example, the

Singapore General Hospital Singapore General Hospital (SGH) is an academic health science centre and tertiary referral hospital in Singapore. It is located next to the Bukit Merah and Chinatown districts of the Central Region, close to the Outram Community Hospital (O ...

Skin Bank may harvest skin from the dead donor within 15 hours of death. 0.025 cm to 0.046 cm of the outer layer of the skin – mostly from the hidden areas of the body, such as the back and thighs – is harvested using a special instrument called the

dermatome Dermatome may refer to: * Dermatome (anatomy), an area of skin that is supplied by a single pair of dorsal roots * Dermatome (embryology), the portion of the embryonic paraxial mesoderm, the somite, which gives rise to dermis * Dermatome (instrument ...

, so that the donor may still have an open casket funeral. Implementations of organ transplant such as the heart transplant programme by

National Heart Centre Singapore Singapore Health Services, commonly known as SingHealth, is the largest group of healthcare institutions in Singapore. Established in 2000, the group consists of four public hospitals, two community hospitals, five national specialty centres a ...

(NHCS) may usually be enabled by the

Human Organ Transplant Act Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are great apes characterized by their hairlessness, bipedalism, and high intelligenc ...

(HOTA), such as the case of Wong Wing Chun who died at the age of 49. His

liver The liver is a major metabolic organ (anatomy), organ exclusively found in vertebrates, which performs many essential biological Function (biology), functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of var ...

kidney In humans, the kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped blood-filtering organ (anatomy), organs that are a multilobar, multipapillary form of mammalian kidneys, usually without signs of external lobulation. They are located on the left and rig ...

cornea The cornea is the transparency (optics), transparent front part of the eyeball which covers the Iris (anatomy), iris, pupil, and Anterior chamber of eyeball, anterior chamber. Along with the anterior chamber and Lens (anatomy), lens, the cornea ...

s were donated by his wife Lim Yoke Pay, who also donated his skin and iliac arteries as well. The Live On social awareness movement is also formed to educate Singaporeans on organ donation.

References

External links

Medical (Therapy, Education and Research) Act 1972
{{Law of Singapore 1972 in law 1972 in Singapore Healthcare in Singapore Singaporean legislation